I’m really looking forward to hitting the Pagoda Convention this year. There’s going to be so many great tattooers and so much going on. Come down and check it out and if you’re in the market of picking up a tattoo machine, I have some good ones I have been working on this whole month. Here is a few of them

Lately we have had a lot of fun sourcing out rare and hard to find fabric for my aprons. This bandana print is probably one of my favorite one yet. We only made ten so if you want to grab one hit up my supply store here www.saltwatertattoosupply.com. I have some new apron designs in the works as well, I will keep you all posted.

I read a post today that my friend and colleague had brought to my attention, click here to read it. It was about a woman who had been turned down for a neck tattoo from a few tattoo shops, finally landing on one that did her tattoo. She went on about how this artist Dan, “…and artists are a) not exactly known for not being dicks”(her words), told her he would not do her neck tattoo(oh the horror), went into a little detail of the conversation(her side of the story keep in mind) and how she held back the tears after leaving the place. The whole article reeked of anger, resentment and retribution by social media. All those elements add up to be a bad cologne to wear. I am not a writer, I tattoo. I leave the writing to my college professor siblings, so forgive my poor grammar and lack of better words in what I say.

Let me start by talking about New York Adorned. It is a New York tattoo landmark, that shop was there before tattooing was legal in New York. Some of the best tattooers in the world came out of there or worked there at some point and some still do. She stated in her post that people referred to it as a “hipster shop”. That may be, but I will always refer to it as one of the landmark tattoo shops in NYC, as I’m sure many other tattooers and tattoo collectors would agree.

Holding a job at a shop that has a long standing good reputation means that you have to follow by certain unwritten laws, a code of ‘tattoo ethics’ if you will. One of these codes is to try and be a good judge of wether or not someone might regret a tattoo or not. You might read this and think that is silly, but read this when your drunken 18 year old daughter goes into a tattoo shop and wants a big name on her neck, then tell me our rules are silly. We as tattooers are taught, at least from the ‘school’ I was taught, to guide our clients into tattoos that they will enjoy for the rest of their lives, not only the tattoo itself but the placement as well, but where do you draw the line?

I personally won’t do neck or hand tattoos on anyone who isn’t already heavily tattooed in other places, although I have made exceptions. These exceptions are usually based on financially stability of the client, age, career status and the rare obscure other circumstance; I’ll give an example. Once while working in New York, a middle aged man came to me wanting a hand tattoo, as soon as he saw my eyes squint at him ever so slightly he said, “let me plea my case with you!”, he obviously knew our tattoo rules of ethical practice. He began to show me his complete sleeve and his half sleeve on the other side, the side he wanted his hand done, and explained to me why it was only a half sleeve. He was fighting a disease which required him to have regular blood work on that forearm, it was causing scarring and needed regular upkeep and healing so he was waiting until he was better before he finished that forearm. He told me that he didn’t want to miss this opportunity to get his hand done by me and had been waiting for a while, he also proved to me that he has his own construction business and his tattoos would not effect his livelihood. I did the tattoo.

There are sometimes exceptions to the rule, but we as tattooers should always practice good tattoo ethics. Of course it is always up to the tattooer on where to draw the line, some may be more strict than others. In my opinion, this woman’s article came off more of a complaint about a bad experience rather than a bad ‘tattoo’ experience, which could’ve happened anywhere. So to all the people out there young, old and every age in between, don’t be mad if you are possibly turned down for a neck, face or hand tattoo. We are just doing our job as tattooers and are doing our best to use our experience in the art of permanency to assure you don’t ruin your life, as horrible as that may be.

I have attached a few tattoo photos and wrote a brief description of why I tattooed their neck or hand.

After missing the last couple years at the Ink n Iron festival I am back. This year my shop will have a double booth and we will be in full force. I have been slaving away for a month on a good bunch of machines that will be for sale at the show. I hope you all enjoy them and as always, thanks for looking and the support.

Tomorrow I will be leaving to Nagoya, Japan, for one special day. The Classic Legends Lowrider and Kustom Car Show. From what I here it’s supposed to be one of the best car shows in the world. We’ll have to wait and see, I’ll post photos and a report when I get home. I’m taking a disposable camera to capture the details, also doubling the pics with a ‘disposable camera art show’ coming up soon over at my homies barber shop(Syndicate). Here’s a photo of the shirt, sweatshirt and aprons I’ll have with me at the show for sale.

If you guys liked “Dead Man Waking” then you’ll love “Eddie”, the continuation. If you ever watched NY Ink then you might remember when I tattooed Pete on the show. His story is an incredible tale of a man losing everything through drugs and violence and gaining it all back through love and spirituality. Pete has helped me more than most in my life and is a continual shining light and example of how a human being should be, SO BUY THIS BOOK. I promise you’ll love it.

That little baby in this photo you see is two and a half years old now, his name is Vincent Cane and he was diagnosed with leukemia recently. He is the strongest little dude I know! His parents Demian and Casie are very good friends of mine and so I thought it’d be nice to help them out with their medical bills by throwing them a benefit. In doing this it has snowballed into something bigger than I could’ve imagined. So many great people have donated either their time or some amazing objects to auction off at the party. There will also be an online auction for those that cannot make the party, so not to worry. I have been posting some of the items on my Instagram here @timhendricks if you’d like to view them. The Hurley Printing Press will also be there from noon-5pm hand screening designs from Freddy Corbin, Myself, Chuco Moreno and Ben Grillo. Please come down and show your support and buy a shirt or get tattooed!

If you can’t make the benefit you can always paypal a donating directly to helpvincent8@gmail.com

In the last couple years I’ve been taking my photography a big more seriously. I mean, why not? I can finally afford the lenses I’ve always wanted, not to mention I’m in situations that allow me to capture great moments on film. Well recently my friend Alysha Nett asked to interview me and showcase a handful of my photos on the Inked Mag website. If you have a second go check it out here www.inkedmag.com/beyond-ink-tim-hendricks

Since purchasing Classic Tattoo I have tirelessly been repairing, cleaning and restoring as much as I can. One of the things that all of us agreed upon is that the front of the building was dated and old. It looked great in black and white photographs, but that’s about it. So rather than having vinyl stickers custom made, which I could never bring myself to do, we hired the best sign painter this side of the Mississippi, Scott Larock. There is something about hand painted signs and lettering that has such a warm authentic feel, it cannot be duplicated or imitated. Watching Scott work was such a joy, like nothing I’ve ever seen. It has to be painted on the inside of the glass, so he has to paint all the letters backwards. Let that sink in for a moment, all the lettering in these photos was painted in mirror image so to speak… incredible. We are so honored to have Scott’s work on our glass.

All these photos are shot by myself in film, no photoshop, no adjustments.

The release date is here, cyber monday on saltwatertattoo.com. The first 25 orders will receive a sign and numbered book with a print from Chuco himself. Chuco Moreno is a true California native and a solid tattooer. Chuco’s tattooing is derived from an authentic hispanic barrio upbringing, nowhere else in the world can you find a style quite like this, often imitated but never duplicated. Chuco was also well trained in the traditional style of tattooing as well, which is very noticeable in some of the drawings you will see in this book. This is a must have for any tattoo shop or home reference library.

Contact

If you would like to make an appointment in Orange County, California, please email me at timchendricks@gmail.com please include what you would like to get, where on your body and how big. Make it short and simple, please.

I am not making appointments or working in NYC. For all other inquiries you may also email me at